Time-Limited Therapy
Why an ending date changes things
You may be reading this and wondering whether any meaningful work can really be done in just six or twelve counselling sessions, and this is fully understandable. Compared to long-term therapy which can last for years it does seem rather short. There are, however, very solid reasons not to write this modality off as being inferior or second best just because of the limited number of sessions.
Imagine that you had all the time in the world to write your presentation for work, to submit a job application or to prepare for an exam. Would you do it today? Maybe you might put it off till tomorrow or maybe next week. Perhaps you might not get around to it until... well, who knows when you might get around to it if you didn't have a deadline. Possibly never!
It is precisely this thinking that time-limited therapy is able to so successfully address. When the number of sessions or end date is known at the outset, this can potentially give us a real feeling of urgency to do the work in a way that is more difficult to achieve when the ending is unknown from the outset.
I've worked with people, sometimes for years and then as soon as we pencil in an ending in say six weeks’ time, suddenly there's a breakthrough. Suddenly a decision is made or an important insight gained. In other words, the person has one of those rare but invaluable ah ha moments.
"When the number of sessions or end date is known at the outset, this can give us a real feeling of
urgency to do the work in a way that is more difficult to achieve when the ending is unknown."
And this isn’t something that is consciously sought out. On the contrary, these moments seem, all too often, to arrive spontaneously out of the blue. When I see this pattern time and again occurring shortly after arranging an end date with someone, then it seems obvious to me that this is the catalyst for the breakthrough and subsequent transformation.
Perhaps you can relate to this yourself? Maybe you have had an experience in your life that provided you with a wakeup call reminding you that life itself is limited and this awareness resulted in you living more urgently, grasping each day as if it might be your last!
It’s certainly something commonly reported by people who have near death experiences. They often come out the other side with a renewed appreciation of life and a clear understanding that every day is precious.
This insight can be transforming. People suddenly leave jobs that they didn't really want to be in and try to live far more in accordance with their core values and aspirations. They get more in tune with what they authentically really want to do because every day is one less day, of their life. Most of the time we don’t want to think about this but on occasion, the time limited reality of life is thrust upon us in ways that we can’t ignore and if we are prepared to hold this reality at the forefront of our minds, then this can propel us to living in a more urgent more meaningful way.
How This Actually Works
If you choose to work in a time-limited manner with me, the first thing we will do is clarify the number of sessions. In my personal experience a short module of six sessions can work well but my preferred option is a module of twelve since this is in my experience the optimum number to really achieve a positive outcome. I find that twelve sessions are more than enough to do justice to you and the issues which you have come to see me to work through.
What it Means for You
Something to be aware of if you decide to have time-limited therapy with me is that I work in exactly the same way regardless of the number of sessions. What makes the difference is the limited number of sessions and I don’t make any changes to my style of working to accommodate this. In other words, you get exactly the same me, working in the same way regardless of whether you come to see for long term or time limited therapy. In both instances, my hope is that you will gain the necessary understanding into your situation to feel that you can see a way forward in your life once again. One that I will hopefully be able to support you towards.
Ultimately, I see therapy as a process that continues long after the sessions have ended. It’s a little bit like a springboard into further self-development which hopefully you will be better equipped to do. My hope is that you can become your own therapist and will have sufficient insight and understanding to continue the work on your own.
Twelve sessions, in my opinion, is long enough for me to impart something of my style of therapy to you so that you feel better equipped to move forward in your life with greater confidence that you have the necessary tools to help you deal with life’s challenges more successfully.
"You get exactly the same me, working in the same way regardless of whether
you come to see me for long-term or time-limited therapy"
Something to Think About
I’d like to leave you with something to think about before I end this article. The way I see it, when it comes to time-limited or long-term therapy neither one is better than the other. Achieving a successful outcome in counselling or psychotherapy has far more to do with your own personal expectations and attitude towards the therapy and motivation to do the work rather than the modality itself.
What is it you would like to work on? What do you personally think is a reasonable amount of time to spend doing so? Perhaps you tend to procrastinate and worry that if there is no end date in sight, you might struggle to really knuckle down so you are drawn to time limited work. Alternatively, you may have serious concerns that twelve sessions are simply not enough, and you prefer to leave things more open.
Get in Touch
If you would like to discuss your expectations of personal therapy with me and whether time-limited or longer-term sessions might work best for you, then do feel free to get in touch and we can arrange to meet for an initial session.